Pittsburgh, Pa. – The
Robert Morris University men's basketball team used a balanced offensive attack and a stout defensive effort to garner its first win of the 2017-18 season Sunday with a 66-59 victory over Duquesne at the A.J. Palumbo Center.
In winning for the seventh time in eight games against the Dukes (2-1), the Colonials (1-3) posted a 49-32 edge on the glass, including a 21-6 advantage in offensive rebounds, and held Duquesne to just 37 percent (17-for-46) shooting.
The tilt featured eight ties and seven lead changes, with neither team owning more than a four-point advantage in the first 13 minutes. Rene Castro-Caneddy gave the Dukes a 25-21 advantage after dropping a three-pointer at the 6:50 mark of the first half before RMU posted a 12-0 run to grab a 33-25 edge with 2:11 left before the break.
Five different Colonials scored during the surge, including four points from freshman guard
Leondre Washington, who converted back-to-back layups that pushed Robert Morris in front.
Duquesne trimmed its deficit to 33-30 at halftime and Tydus Verhoeven opened the scoring in the second stanza with a layup to pull the Dukes to within 33-32.
RMU weathered the storm, using an 8-2 stretch to open up a 41-34 margin with 16:04 remaining as redshirt freshman
David Cole scored on a layup, freshman forward
Koby Thomas provided a dunk and junior guard
Matty McConnell contributed four points.
LINKS: Boxscore (PDF) | Photo Gallery
The Dukes charged right back, grabbing a one-point advantage on two occasions in the second half, the second of which came with 8:57 to go, 48-47, after a Verhoeven tip-in. However, that field goal was the only one Duquesne could muster over a 13 and-a-half minute stretch.
Robert Morris grabbed the lead right back, 49-48, after the Verhoeven bucket courtesy of a layup from junior forward
Malik Petteway, who was one of two players to record a double-double for the Colonials against the Dukes. Thomas would follow with another dunk, Petteway converted in the paint and a fastbreak layup from Thomas would push the RMU lead to 55-50 with 4:45 remaining.
Washington came up with a big basket for the Colonials at the 2:37 mark with a running layup that extended the Robert Morris advantage to 58-52, and McConnell helped seal the win with a steal and a score with 1:13 to play that opened up a 61-53 cushion.
Petteway and McConnell each scored 13 points to lead RMU, while Petteway notched his second double-double of the young campaign with a game-high 14 boards. Junior guard
Dachon Burke also finished with a double-double thanks to 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Thomas chipped in 10 points and eight caroms.
Duquesne was led by Williams, Jr., and Castro-Caneddy, who each scored 18 points. Verhoeven registered 12 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks.
Robert Morris returns to action in the Grand Canyon Classic for its next game, traveling to Little Rock, Ark., for a 6:00 p.m. tip against Norfolk State Friday, Nov. 24, for a neutral site contest. The Colonials will wrap up the tournament Saturday, Nov. 25, against the host Trojans with a 4:00 p.m. tip.
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